10 August 2021: The massive hype around the rise of NFTs has officially made its way into major mainstream professional sports. Tom Brady, one of the best American football quarterbacks of all time, is scheduled to have his autographed NFT line launch in its entirety on August 13th. This article will explore the details of the DraftKings Marketplace and implications for the wider NFT market.
Support Independent Journalism & Research - Become a Supporter on Patreon
The Rise of Digital Sports Collectibles
Per DraftKings, the launch of their new marketplace will allows millions of consumers to "seamlessly buy, sell and trade digital collectibles across sports, entertainment and culture using their existing DraftKings account", effectively bringing DraftKings to the forefront of NFT market exchanges. Additionally, with the launch of this new platform, DraftKings has also created a partnership with Autograph, a startup which utilizes official licensing of popular athletes and celebrities. DraftKings will have the exclusive rights to distribute this digital merchandise.
Autograph was founded by Tom Brady, Naomi Osaka, Derek Jeter, Wayne Gretzky, Tony Hawk, and the major media corporation Lionsgate. Right off the bat, this start up has immense star power and influence, setting up DraftKings to have some seriously exclusive NFT collectibles. With Brady's line of NFT collectibles beginning to push out tomorrow (August 11) followed by the premium NFTs on August 13th, it is clear that major institutions, celebrities, and athletes all want a piece of the NFT pie.
Exclusive Rights to Sport, Media, & Entertainment NFTs
DraftKings has set themselves up to have a fantastic grip on a possible mainstream adoption of NFTs. While in recent weeks many have question the validity and hype around NFTs (especially with someone spending a mint on what appears to have been a picture of a rock), the rise of exclusive, autographed digital content from well-known athletes, artists, and entertainers, a new avenue for value can be found in the NFT market.
Implications for the Broader Market
Newly added value to NFTs could absolutely shift the market towards centralized businesses like DraftKings which obviously right off the bat is not necessarily a positive. However, what it will do is bring more balance to the market pricing as a whole and perhaps even push people to truly create unique content worth the exorbitant price tags that have been seen in some NFT sales to date.
Decentralized content creators will be encouraged to actually generate valuable content, pushing the market away from just ridiculous hype towards a skill-based creation of new artistic expression. The best digital creators would have the most highly valued NFTs as reputations build within the expanding market. While there is no guarantee of any of this happening, it is probable that a picture of a rock will more than likely not be selling for more than an exclusive Tom Brady signed NFT in the future.
Summary
The launch of celebrity NFTs through the new DraftKings Marketplace will definitely expand the participating market of consumers within the NFT space tremendously. Those who may not have been interested in NFTs initially could be drawn in to the launch of these exclusive digital sports collectibles that are scheduled to launch very soon. Sports memorabilia collectors, avid fans, and even casual viewers will now be able to witness the NFT market expand into different areas of their lives that they are already familiar with, formally establishing NFTs as a legitimate asset class.
Author's Note
When I first heard of NFTs, I actually thought it was a really cool idea. The creation of digital art pieces that can be formally bought, sold, and traded on blockchain exchanges offers a new way for content creators to utilize their creativity to express themselves in a very new way - all the while getting paid well for it. Digital artwork has a brand new element to it as significantly more can be incorporated into it versus traditional painting, sculpture building, and so on.
An NFT isn't valuable just because it is an NFT. An NFT should be a unique, talented creation that pulls value from the artist's ability level. While there is no guarantee where the NFT market will go, I do believe that the rise of these celebrity NFTs could help push the rest of the market to create more valuable content for the future.
We plan on expanding the team of writers, researchers, & analysts! Want to help make that a reality? Become a supporter on Patreon!
Support Independent Journalism & Research - Become a Supporter on Patreon
